Ben Brinkerhoff - Class 5: Set Thy Mind on the Things of the Spirit (Romans 8:12-39)

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:00

   Right. We are reading to open the class. Today we got Romans 8 versus 12 to 39 and can I get James Simpson to come up please? Even that James and have great pleasure in calling brother Ben to do his study. Suffer in the flesh for Christ’s sake, and fulfill your obligation.

2. 0:34

   Are we ready? Good morning. Well, young people, my dear brother and sisters. I’m not sure. If I’ve fulfilled your expectations, but I think that you have mine relative to the discussion that we had earlier this week, didn’t we? The only one thing I’d request is that there’s so many of you. And I don’t know you and I have get up here and I talk and blah blah blah blah. Right.

3. 1:10

   And then after the studies, you go and you have your conversations with each other, you know? But I’d actually love to have conversations with you too. I’d love. For it to interact with you about whether these studies mean anything. To you yet what you might find that was interesting. To reflect on your own personal experience and how this might apply to things that you’re dealing with, stresses in your life, things that you are concerned about, whether their relationships, where their school, where their careers, whether their friendships that are happening or not happening or stopped happening or anything along those lines.

4. 1:45

   The application of your faith to your. Life or just a chat Don’t feel at all that that I’m in any way. Aloof at all because I I actually would love to talk to you and get to know you. I’m going to be in New Zealand for a long time and I think we’re going to be friends for a long time, so you might as well get to know each other.

5. 2:05

   So I’d really appreciate that. And by the way, this afternoon I plan to kick your butt in sports. So, you know, I mean, I might as well know you. After I plow you. Over in rugby, I can at least pull you up and say hi, you know, So you know soccer first, right? But then the real sport.

6. 2:25

   Right. So I guess we can start the recording now. Our last class together, you know? Romans 8 it’s. A great chapter, isn’t it? Any chapter that begins with no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. That has to be a good chapter. That has to be a chapter worth studying. And in this chapter really doesn’t disappoint us, does it? It really rewards study.

7. 2:49

   But this chapter uses a really. Fascinating and interesting. Word, doesn’t it? And in fact our our reading brother brother James as he began his reading he uses this word and it’s found in Romans chapter 8 and verse 12 where we read. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors. We’re debtors. That’s the King James word, at least.

8. 3:17

   You know what’s so interesting about the word debtor? I mean, imagine if you were writing a chapter about your hope in Christ. Would you have? Called your reader’s debtor. Let me think about this I’m. I’m writing a chapter. I’m. I’m. I’m. Trying to inspire you, even about your hope in Christ Jesus and I’m. Calling you a debtor.

9. 3:39

   I mean, what kind of hope involves being a debtor? I have a lot of debt. You know, a SB bank has a lot of debt on me, right? And I’d actually like to relieve myself of that debt. That would actually, I actually would hope to pay off the debt. I owe to the bank.

10. 3:54

    So what kind of what kind of hope, anyways, involves being a debtor? And if Paul says in Romans chapter 8, verse 12 that we’re debtors, that means we owe something. We have an obligation. You know, that’s an equally valid way of putting it. An equally valid way of putting this is that we we have an obligation. So I ask you young people, you’re in Christ Jesus. If you’re not, imagine for a moment that you are. What’s your obligation?

11. 4:28

    What is the debt that you have to pay? What is your obligation in Christ Jesus? Because you have one. Actually, we don’t find out. Until verse 17, because Paul spends verse 13 through 16 just sort of trying to explain what this debt is so you know people don’t get spooked about it too much.

12. 4:52

    But yes, he doesn’t mention what the debt is until verse 17. And so for a moment let’s just move down to verse 17 where we have our answer. Verse 17, reading out the new King James Version and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joiners with Christ, if indeed. And that’s what the new King James Version says.

13. 5:13

    It says if indeed, and I’ll read it out of the King James Version. If so be so. If you’re reading your King James Version, you got your pencils. You know who still has their pencils. Raise your. Hands good. Now take your pencil and underline. If so, be in the King James, or if indeed in the new King James, because that’s quite an important bit. You know, we have these wonderful blessings. We’re in Christ.

14. 5:40

    We have no combination where we’re joint heirs. We’ll talk about what that means in a moment. But there’s this if so be doing these word ifs. This word if in Romans is an important word. When you read the word if, pause for a moment and say this is a big thing. Paul doesn’t use that word if very casually in. Romans the only uses.

15. 6:00

    The word if if it really matters, and this is one of the places he’s using that if indeed. We suffer with him that we may also be glorified together. So young people, our obligation is to suffer.

16. 6:28

    Bummer. That’s not a very fun obligation. But I can’t. I can’t do anything else but just read the text in front of our eyes and you see the text and I see the text, and it says very clearly that our debt, our obligation is to suffer.

17. 6:49

    Now help us get our head. Around that obligation, I think it’s useful to look at the parable of the forgiven debt in Matthew 18. Turn there with me now, Matthew 18, where we find the word translate debtor. In Romans 8 is translated as owed in Matthew 18 verse 24. So we find this and now this word debtors not used very often in scripture, but this is one of the places it’s used.

18. 7:18

    So let’s take a look at this parable and see if we learn anything about our obligation in Christ. It’s very interesting and and common parable. I’m sure you all know it, but let’s read again together and just familiarize ourselves again with it. Matthew 18 starting verse 23. Therefore is the Kingdom of heaven likened into a certain king, which would take account of his service, And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought onto him, which owed him 10,000 talents.

19. 7:49

    But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him and said, Lord, have patience with me, I will pay the all very dramatically, mind you.

20. 8:08

    Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave the debt. Now this man owed a debt which by my calculations was 200,000 years wages. Here’s the calculation. One talent equals 6000 dinari. Right. Just take my word for that one. That’s what Wikipedia says, and they must be right.

21. 8:35

    One dinari equals one day’s wage. We actually have a reference for that. So one talent is 6000 days wages, which is the equivalent of 20 years wages. So 10,000 talents must be 200,000 years wages for the common laborer. So it’s been 2000 years since this parable was given, right? So they’re like 1% of the way there, if they’d worked.

22. 8:59

    Every day from the day that Christ gave the parable till now. So if a yearly wage in that time for just a laborer with no skill would be $15,000 a year. You can think of that as $3 billion is how much this man owed. So it’s quite a big debt. And he was to be sold into slavery because he owed such a great amount that he could not repay.

23. 9:22

    But he fell down. He begged for patience. To repay the price and the word I can passion on him, and did not give him just more time to pay, but the Lord actually forgave the debt altogether. Now here’s my question for you, would you? Say that the man in this parable was under an obligation before the Lord forgave the debt.

24. 9:51

    That’s an easy one. Yeah, he was definitely under an obligation before the Lord forgave him. But was he under an obligation after his Lord forgave the debt?

25. 10:08

    Now we may be tempted to answer no, because of course the debt was. Forgiven, wasn’t it? But let’s just continue in this. Parable a little bit picking up then. Where we left off, but the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him 100 pence. And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, and said, Pay me that thou oest.

26. 10:33

    And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, I have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not but when and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servant saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their Lord all that was done. Than the Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me, Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And as the Lord was wrath and delivered him to the tormentors, tell he should pay all that was due him. So was the servant under an obligation? Even after the enormous debt was forgiven. What do you think?

27. 11:31

    Yeah, he was, wasn’t he? The quarterly was, because the debt was sort of charged to him again. But in the second case, the obligation was to follow his Lord’s example. See, he was obliged to forgive. And in that case, forgiving really meant suffering some financial loss. So what’s the point of this parable? Why do I take us here?

28. 11:56

    Because I think this parable will illustrates that even after the debt is forgiven, there’s still an obligation. The obligation is to be like the Lord. There’s an obligation even for those who have freedom in Christ. And Paul tells us that our obligation, our obligation. Young people is to suffer.

29. 12:23

    OK, so here’s Baptized. Raise your hand. Your obligation is to suffer. How should we suffer? Well, Paul begiarly begins to answer this suffering question in Romans 8 versus 14 through 16. So how should we suffer? Romans 8 and verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the.

30. 13:06

    Spirit of adoption by whom we crowd of a Father, The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that were the children of God. OK, so as a starter. Paul’s saying to us that our suffering brings tears, and Paul says that we cry out ABBA father. And Paul tells us in the next verse, which is a little bit mysterious, that that is the spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we’re the children of God.

31. 13:39

    OK, now how is our spirit bearing witness of the spirit of God when we cry? ABBA Father, now I don’t know about you. But I’m a sobby mess. I still cry right I if if, if they play the right hymn on Sunday morning, I’m crying. I can’t even help it. But maybe you all are tough guys.

32. 14:03

    You play rugby in this country. I don’t know you know we we we were wear helmets in the states we’re wimps. But but to cry it’s in itself is it’s natural and it’s very human. But when we cry, that’s our spirit. But my question is not that we cry, but what do we cry when we feel that pain inside we feel.

33. 14:36

    That pain inside. What do we say? What do we do? For example, do we? Do we? Lash out, do we say? Angry or harsh things when we get to that point. I I call it the breaking point and all. Parents in the crowd, you all know what the breaking point was and. Is we had a breaking point in the car on the way here this morning.

34. 15:00

    We all know about the breaking point and we get to that breaking point. How do we relieve the tension and the hurt and the sadness and the frustration that we feel inside? Do we cry ABBA Father?

35. 15:25

    Because when we do cry ABBA Father, that’s the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, the Son of God, bearing witness with our Spirit because. At that moment when we cry and we. Cry ABBA, Father both our spirit. And the Spirit of Christ are actually in perfect unison at that moment.

36. 15:57

    Our emotion has actually joined perfectly with our faith in suffering. Like Christ. You know, perhaps the best example of this we can think about is Jesus in the Garden of the Gethsemane, now any of us. If we were under the pressures and the strains and the stresses of Christ, do you think you’d be crying?

37. 16:24

    I’d be crying, and you each would also be crying if you had to face what Jesus was about to face and at that moment in the garden. He cried, Father.

38. 16:45

    Not my will be done, but yours. And you see, that’s the perfect example, he cried. Not my will be done, but yours. And so his spirit bore witness with the Spirit of God. And they’re joined because trust me. When people feel stressed and strained and agitated, intense and under incredible pressure, how often do they cry God’s will be done? How often do they cry ABBA Father? How often instead do they find other methods and Ways and Means to relieve that tension to give themselves some momentary comfort?

39. 17:40

    By taking out their pain on someone else, hurting someone else or abusing themselves in some way or some form. And this word ABBA, as you know, is a softening of the Hebrew word of which means father. So it’s kind of like daddy. And I guess as a father you kind of get a sense of the small child who’s hurting and he’s crying daddy.

40. 18:10

    To you. And you get the sense in that moment that that our God is not a distant or aloof God. He’s a nurturing God. He’s the Al Shadai, which means the nurturer and perhaps being a father. Now I understand those words more because what Paul’s saying here is that God is looking at us like children, like children.

41. 18:40

    Like, he really cares. And he’s not distant from the pain. He’s not distant from our tension or our struggle. And there’s something I really want to make clear for you. There’s something I really want to make clear. So, so pay attention to this. This is important, that it’s not young people. That emotion is evil and that. The righteous thing to do is to stuff up all your emotion and just pretend it doesn’t exist, and to ignore all your tension and your agitation and all your passion. Ignore all that and to live.

42. 19:18

    Like a stoic because that’s the way to life, because that’s not what I’m saying. And if you thought that what I was saying, then you’ve got me wrong because that’s not what I’m saying, what I’m saying. Is let the Spirit of God that is within you guide you in whatever the trial, whatever the joy and.

43. 19:46

    Whatever the experience and whatever the emotion is that, let the Spirit of God guide you. So when it all becomes too much, you cry. ABBA, dear God, help me to do your will. It’s not that emotion is wrong. Is that you yield yourself to God to do His will. It’s not that emotion is wrong, but that emotion, when acted upon, could be for your benefit or for your good, or to hurt others, or for any other purpose other than God’s will.

44. 20:30

    And what I’m asking of you is to recognize that for what it is. And yield it to the Father not to ignore it, because God doesn’t ignore it, does he? He sends that Angel to his son in the garden. That his son might feel comfort,

45. 20:59

    but we’re in Christ, you say. Or maybe Paul’s readers were saying. We’re in Christ, you know, We suffered under the law. What about this freedom in Christ that you’ve been talking about, Paul? We’ve suffered before being, you know, being in Christ. It just seems like we’re suffering before we’re suffering now. It’s all just suffering.

46. 21:19

    Paul. Where’s the benefits? Where’s the benefits of being in? Christ. And Paul says, in fact, something really important has changed when you’re in Christ. And what’s important that has changed is that now your sons. And daughters of God. No, Okay. What’s the benefit of that you see? If you think about a sun and you think about a slave, and you think about, maybe, if you can, an agrarian lifestyle.

47. 21:53

    See the sun and the slave. They both go out in the heat of the day to do the work. They both have to bear that heat, and they’re both fed by the land and by the master who owns the land. They’re fed and they’re given water and they’re giving shelter and so really, why bearing the heat of the day, It doesn’t really appear very much as if the sun and as a slave are very different at all, for they’re both working and what’s the difference?

48. 22:21

    Between the sun and the slave. Then the difference between the sun and the slave is that the sun has a hope. The slave knows. That while working, there will only be work until death. But the son has a hope for an inheritance. And so Paul says you’re you’re still burying the heat of the day.

49. 22:50

    There’s still suffering in the world. God hasn’t taken away the suffering, not at all. And he’s not going to. The difference is you have a hope, your son now. And to Paul, that is a really, really important. Difference because it’s not just futile anymore. But why should we suffer? And maybe you ask the question, if you have gone through some suffering and some people have gone through intense personal suffering and you, you ask yourself the question, why should I suffer? And maybe the words come across your lips. I don’t want to put them in your lips if they aren’t there, but perhaps they’ve come across your lips. Why do we suffer?

50. 23:35

    Doesn’t God love us? And what Paul is really doing is, is he’s really helping us understand that very question. So there’s actually another question worth asking before. We go to that. Question. And that is, are we entitled to any less suffering because we’re in Christ? Do you see that? That’s it’s a similar question, but not exactly the same.

51. 24:06

    Are we entitled to any less suffering because we’re in Christ Now? What Paul needs to do is first establish a correct understanding of suffering, and he really tries to do that between verses 21 and 23. He’s trying to give us a correct understanding of suffering, and Paul explains it this way. And I’ll just summarize briefly.

52. 24:30

    He says, listen, suffering is just a part of this world. I if you go to any country in the world from from the Far East to the far West to the far north, the far South, there’s death everywhere. Tell me the country where people live and they don’t die. Tell the country, tell me the country people live. And there’s not murder and there’s not stealing, there’s not selfishness, there’s not disease, says suffering is just part of this world.

53. 25:01

    He says all of creation groans in pain. All of creation is under the bondage of corruption. All of creation is subject to vanity and that word. Vanity in the King James is futility and other translations. But really, when you look it up, it really means misuse. Means creation is not being used the way God intended it to be used. God created the world with a purpose, and it’s not being used for the purpose for which He created it. It’s being misused, and perhaps the worst. Form of suffering.

54. 25:38

    According to Paul. Is that there’s. Waiting. We’re waiting. We don’t know when it’s going to end. We don’t know when our our hopes going to appear. Romans 8, verse 22. But we know that the whole creation everywhere, it groans and travails and pain together until now. Now the question is that I want to ask you, and I want you to think about this, If all creation suffers and groans of pain because it’s being misused or subject to vanity, can we single out our personal suffering and blame? God.

55. 26:17

    If all of creation is subject to suffering, is subject to misuse, is being used the way God and not intended to be used, can I then take my personal suffering and single it out and say God’s to be blamed? For that it’s an important question actually, and I want us to be clear on this because there’s an attitude, there’s an attitude that underlines this, I remember in the States at least. 9/11 was such a big deal, and of course it was globally as well. And the question really came up a lot after this horrible tragedy.

56. 27:02

    And that question was how could God allow this to happen? I don’t know if that question was asked here in New Zealand, but especially is very poignant in the United States, which is a country that often is considered to be religious and probably rightfully so. How could God allow this to happen? But there’s an attitude underlying that question, and that attitude is this.

57. 27:30

    It’s that as humans, we’re entitled to a good life, and that God is accountable and actually should be questioned for anything that disrupts that good life.

58. 27:50

    That’s that attitude. That actually all of us, we’re entitled to happiness. We’re entitled. To a Good Wife. It’s your human right to have a Good Wife. And that if anything disrupts that Good Wife, whether it be disease or pain or tragedy of any type of any sort, then God is accountable to us.

59. 28:13

    To explain why we have not had The Good Wife we deserve, I ask you do you really think that’s the right attitude? And actually, what Paul’s putting forward is an alternative way of thinking. He’s actually saying that the father loves you. Like a child.

60. 28:44

    If suffering is a consequence of sin, and suffering is the way of the sinful and misused world, we’re not entitled to a life free from suffering, and no man is entitled to a life free from suffering and no human being on this planet. Today will have a life free from suffering. What are we given instead? Instead, we’re given hope.

61. 29:13

    So though, no matter what the suffering is, we’re not going to lose the love of God. And therefore, according to Paul, God is not to be blamed for suffering. God is to be thanked for providing hope. Do you see how miles apart those two things are? God is not to be blamed for suffering.

62. 29:44

    God is to be thanked that there’s hope, and that hope is bigger than you. It’s bigger than me. It’s bigger than our problems. That hope is for God’s glory to be revealed in us and in all the world. And when God’s glory is in all the world, then suffering will end. So picking up in verse 23, we read about one particular important type of suffering, and that’s the suffering which is waiting.

63. 30:30

    Not only that Paul says, but we also have the first fruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, eagerly waiting. For the adoption, the redemption of our body. It really made me pause. Really thought hard about this verse. Do I thought hard about? I thought hard about whether or not waiting is in fact suffering for me.

64. 31:09

    So I guess I’ll pose the question to you. Is waiting for the adoption? Suffering for you, maybe. It doesn’t seem much like suffering. And if that’s the case, I think you should pause and think for a moment, because that probably means that to some extent, to some measure, you’re actually finding your reward in this world. You’re finding your reward in this world and that’s satisfying you and so doesn’t really feel like much like pain doesn’t feel very bad at all to wait, kind of like what’s going on. Kind of like the world.

65. 32:09

    Kind of love the world now, I ask you. What if your reward in the world is taken away and there’s sadness about that? Who are you going to blame?

66. 32:31

    Will you blame God if whatever in the world you’re finding so satisfying is taken away, Will you blame God that that was taken away? Your reward in this world?

67. 32:46

    And Paul was really saying that for. Those that wait. They’re comforted by something, and what they’re comforted by is they’re comforted by a hope, and they’re hoping for something better.

68. 33:02

    And versus 24 and 25, Paul says This we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is is not hope. For why does one still hope for what he sees, but we hope for what we do not see. Then we eagerly wait. For it with perseverance. If you’re going to have hope, you got to be waiting if you’re actually getting your reward in this world. If you’re getting your reward in this world, you’re actually not waiting for anything.

69. 33:37

    And I’d also say to you, you. Probably don’t have a lot of hope because why would you have hope for something you’re already seeing and you’re already experiencing.

70. 33:47

    But to Paul, now this, by the way, this challenged me, this, this little bit, this really just really challenged me. So you have to know that every question I ask you, I’ve already asked myself. And if it’s hard for you, it was hard for me. But I can’t But look at the text and tell you what it says. And if you get your reward from this world, then you can see it and you’re not waiting for it.

71. 34:17

    And I. Ask you then where is your hope? And it probably isn’t a very big hope now. Where does hope? Come from exactly. Where do we get hope? What if we want to fill ourselves up with some hope? You know, refue ourselves with some hope? Where do we get that hope? Now I tell you what. Do you know how you get it?

72. 34:46

    Do you know you get this hope that maybe you don’t have enough of? Do you know how you get that hope? Do The answer is is you suffer?

73. 35:00

    All makes perfect sense. Just turn to Romans 5. Come on, turn on Romans 5. How do we get this hope? We want to throw ourselves a little bit more hope. How do I get that hope? I don’t want to find my reward in this world. I don’t want to be so satisfied with this world. I don’t want to blame God when the rewards of this world are taken away from me.

74. 35:25

    I want hope. How do I get that hope? Paul says Rooms 5, first one, therefore being justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have access by faith and to the grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. This is the part to pay attention to, and not only so, but we glory and tribulation also, and suffering, knowing that tribulation work with patience and patience, experience and experience.

75. 36:05

    Hope and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. So you want some more of this hope? You’d like to have some more hope in your life. How are you going to get that hope? I’ll tell you.

76. 36:29

    Going to suffer. Now, how do we know they’re not going to be disappointed by hope? How do we know hope is not going to disappoint us?

77. 36:43

    Paul says. The tribulation work with patience and patience, endurance, endurance, hope. So perhaps for you and I, actually the world suffers, but you and I need to suffer a little bit more than the world

78. 37:00

    because suffering actually helps us. To understand that putting hope in this world is no hope at all. In this way, suffering brings us to the love of Christ, because we realize that the love of Christ can never disappoint us. You know, whatever you find in this world that you love, I love my wife. She could be taken from me.

79. 37:27

    I love my children. They could be taken from me. Disease or or accidents or whatever it is. I love my job. That could be taken from me. I love my economic security that could be taken from me. Anything I put hope in this world can be taken from me. What about our brethren and Iran?

80. 37:46

    Everything has been taken from them, even their dignity. But you know it can never be taken from you. But you know it can never be taken from you. That will never make you ashamed. You can never lose it. No one could ever take it away. It’s the love of Christ. So it will never disappoint you

81. 38:21

    because it’s the one thing that no disease and no accident and no tragedy. And no difficulty and no suffering at all can take away. Suffering will take away all. Those other things. But I can’t take away the love of Christ. And so suffering brings us to hope because we realize the one thing that endures, the one thing that endures eternally, is the love of Christ.

82. 38:57

    It’s the one thing that won’t disappoint. Now what is this amazing source of hope for Paul? How does Paul get this hope? It’s not suffering. And given that he had the hope and suffering brings him to a greater hope. But where’s the hope come from? Turns with me to Romans 15. This is a great cross reference.

83. 39:18

    Market in your market in your margin, Romans 15. And read with me verse four, are we all there? For whatsoever things were written before, were written for our learning that we through patience and the comfort of the scriptures. Might have hope.

84. 39:59

    You think I’m just bringing up this Bible reading thing because it’s my own little personal thing. What is Paul’s source of hope? It’s the comfort of the Scriptures and the patience of the Scriptures. That’s how he gets hope. And you know what? I don’t know how to be subtle here, so I’m going to kind of just try to be blunt. I don’t have a problem with blunt. I’m good at Blunt.

85. 40:32

    And the blunt point is that if you don’t read the Bible and talk about the Bible and discuss your faith that you’ll lose that hope. You just will.

86. 40:52

    And Paul says here that. In all his sufferings and all the things he’s had to endure that it was the. Scriptures that gave him hope. It can produce in you. A love of Christ which no one can take away and which suffering will only make stronger.

87. 41:21

    Suffering will only make stronger. And so, back in Romans 8, Paul speaks and clarifies for us in more clear terms what that hope really is. What is that hope? What is he hoping? For I should say. And Romans 8IN verse 28. Paul talks about what he hopes for.

88. 41:49

    Reading out of the King James Version and we know. That all things work together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose. For whom he did for know he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren, And moreover, whom he did predestinate, then he. Called and he called.

89. 42:16

    He also justified and he justified them he also glorified. Now what are those verses mean? Why does Paul? Talk about those verses. How do those clarify for for us what the hope is? I’ll tell you what these verses are there to do. What these verses are there to do and demonstrate for you is that your hope? Your hope can come with tremendous confidence. You can have confidence in that hope. Do you know why?

90. 42:48

    Because Paul has said that God has known you since he created the first human being. Since Paul, Paul says since since God created the first man, he’s known those who are his. And not only has he known them that he’s predestined them, that they would be in the image of his son and he has his son Jesus. And remember that Adam made a son in his likeness. Adam made Seth and his likeness and after his image. And there you have Christ in the image of God, and he’s trying to make each one of his sons and his daughters into the image of Christ, to be born after the image of Christ. And think this was God’s purpose from the beginning. And he knew who was his.

91. 43:36

    He knew you before you were born, And he has been working with you to bring you to the point where you are conformed to that image of his Son, that you would be a son and daughter of God. He’s destined you to be his. You are not an accident. Sometimes you look around the room and you think to yourself, well, I can see that God’s.

92. 44:04

    Calling him and him and her. But you know what? I think I was just kind of. I think I was just kind of an accident, you know, like. Like the Angel said, well, this is a reject. But you know, OK, pass it through, you know, and if and you get the sense that you’re a fraud. Maybe everyone else has this figured out, But I’m a fraud. I’m personally a fraud.

93. 44:30

    I don’t know why God’s working with me. I don’t know if the angels really do care. Maybe I’m just here by accident. Maybe it’s all just an accident. Why me? There’s a lot of selfishness in that, those words. Why me, by the way? So a lot of selfishness in those words. Because God doesn’t merely want you, He wants you to reflect him. You probably can’t do a lot for God, but God can do a whole heck of a lot through you.

94. 45:06

    If you’d let him. If you’d let him. And God knows. And you’re here because he knows that if you let him, he can do tremendous good.

95. 45:26

    If you let God work through you, if you actually let him put his image and likeness on you, he can do tremendous good. He doesn’t want you. He doesn’t want me.

96. 45:46

    He wants him in you. He wants himself in me. He wants me to change, to be like him. So never doubt what God can do through you, only question whether you’re letting him. And what Paul is saying is that hope is sure you are not an accident, you are not a fraud, you are here on purpose. And that God has known you from the beginning and he has been working to change you into the image of his son and he’s still working and he’s not going to give up and so. Paul says that.

97. 46:26

    Hope is a sure hope is a sure hope is a hope which will not disappoint. And Paul says not only that, but I am saved by that hope, Paul says.

98. 46:44

    And Paul is willing to suffer. Because the Paul you understand that suffering is just nothing. It’s just nothing in comparison to the hope. I don’t think the world sees it that way. I think most people see suffering in relation to hope. That’s the Wellington skyline, I guess, taken from my a boat out in the harbor.

99. 47:13

    I think people see things this way. They can see, you know, I can have. It’s one of the riches of the world and all these wonderful things and expensive things and nice things. Or I could suffer for Christ. They see the suffering for Christ in relation to the world and its riches. And they say this is a tough call.

100. 47:35

     I don’t know which one should I want? Should I want all the world has to offer me or should I want to suffer for Christ. And they and they see this as this contrast. But you don’t, Paul actually he never saw things this way. This is not the way Paul sees things. It’s not the way he’s making decision. Because to the Paul, to Paul the world is suffering. That anything that he could possibly get in this world can be taken away from him, or he could die and he loses it. Then that the whole world is subject to misuse, the whole world is subject to vanity.

101. 48:08

     That the world is suffering. And so to Paul, it’s nothing. He sees it as done. He counts the world as done. It counts nothing for him. Because it’s only suffering. And in fact he doesn’t even see it as done.

102. 48:34

     He sees it as irreversible death. And so to Paul. The real comparison, it’s not between the world and its riches and its wonders and all the wonderful things that can give him. That’s not the comparison for Paul. The comparison. Is suffering with a hope or irreversible death? And I don’t think Paul thinks about suffering. I think Paul sees it this way.

103. 49:08

     I think Paul sees it as irreversible death versus the glories of the Kingdom. Do you think the world sees it this way? But you know what if you if you think about it. As as the as the wonderful things the world has to offer you. Or suffering for Christ? Well, that’s a hard.

104. 49:27

     Way to make a decision. It’s. Going to be real. Hard for you to choose, to set your mind on things of the Spirit. That way if you if you see things in that light, it’s going to be real hard for you to make decisions. But if you see it in the light that Paul sees it, if you, if you can, put yourself in his position as he’s writing these things. And you see it this way.

105. 49:50

     Boy, it’s a lot easier to make decisions, isn’t it? Such subtle change of thinking. And we look back at the parable we started with and we see a man forgiven a very large debt.

106. 50:06

     And that servant was under an obligation, even though the debt was forgiven. And that obligation was in a sense to be like his Lord. The obligation was to forgive and. For and and. Not only to forgive but to suffer the loss of wealth and the parable itself is prompted by a question by Peter.

107. 50:24

     And Peter asked Jesus this question. Then Peter came to Jesus and said Lord. How off shall I shall my brother sin against me? And I forgive him until seven times? And Jesus said unto him, Say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 * 7. This Peter, I want to tell you a story, story about a man with a very large debt, and you’ll remember from that story. That the man that owed the very large debt, he owed 10,000 talents and we talked about 10,000 talents. That was probably 200,000 years of Labor, such that if a man had worked from the day of Jesus till now, he’d be 1% done paying the debt.

108. 51:16

     Now, why would Jesus choose such an impressively large amount? Now he chooses that large amount because it’s an impressively large amount. It’s also the largest number the Greeks really had. But there’s another reason he chooses this impressively large amount. Can someone think of a time or story in the Bible where 10,000 talents comes up? Who said it?

109. 51:43

     Very good. You turn to Esther, Chapter 3 versus 8:00 and 9:00. We’ll read about this impressively large debt. Of course, not a debt. In this case, 10,000 talents, 200,000 years of Labor. Esther, Chapter 3 and verses 8:00 and 9:00.

110. 52:16

     Then Hayman said to King Hajueris. There’s a certain people scattered and dispersed among all the. People in all the provinces of your Kingdom. Their laws are different from all the other peoples and they do not keep the King’s. Laws. Therefore, it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed.

111. 52:48

     And I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work. To bring it into the King’s treasuries. Now imagine forgiving a character. Such as Heyman.

112. 53:14

     Imagine not blaming God if you heard there was a decree issued from the king ordering your death. In fact, I can’t even go there in my head. I can’t even imagine what that would feel like. I can’t even imagine the bitterness I would have over such a decree. How would you respond to suffering like this? Inflicted by man like Haman?

113. 53:51

     You know, forgiveness. Forgiveness is a hard thing to give, All right? Forgiveness basically means, yeah, I’m not going to get. Back whatever was done to you. You’re not going to get back. You’re not going to punish that person. You’re not going to hurt that person. You’re not going to get the debt repaid. It’s difficult, you know.

114. 54:19

     And I I bring this up because Paul asked this important question in Rome, is he says, who can separate you from the love of Christ? But the reason I bring this up is because I want to ask you this question. What if you don’t forgive? What if you don’t forgive? See when you don’t forgive. Another person.

115. 54:44

     Or if you don’t forgive God. Excuse me for saying that, but if you don’t forgive God for whatever suffering you’ve gone through, anger and resentment will build up in you. And you continue to feel this pain and its torment, and you agonize over what you’ve gone through. And in order to distance yourself from that pain, you start to blame. Because blame is a really good tool to protect yourself from pain.

116. 55:18

     You see, the whole world gets a lot simpler when it’s someone else’s fault, and it’s a very natural defense. But why would someone else hurting us? Separate us from Christ’s love. Why would someone else hurting us separate us from Christ’s love? Who here has had someone in the meeting hurt them?

117. 55:44

     Very few. I’m really impressed. Young people. Just wait. Just wait. All you old people, if you haven’t. Had someone hurt you in the meeting? I’m in. Truly, truly thankful for you. I am only 32 and I’ve had people in the meeting hurt me. What happens if I don’t forgive them? What if I let resentment build up inside of me? What if I say I’m not going to come to meeting because that person’s going to be there,

118. 56:18

     where we say I’m not going to go to activity because that person’s there. I’m not going to minister because that person might be there. That person speaking, I don’t want to hear anything. They. Have to say, I’m not going to support the meeting on this Sunday.

119. 56:33

     What happens when that resentment builds up inside? Why would someone else hurting us separate us from Christ’s love? But it does. It does when you don’t forgive, doesn’t it? It can do. Or what if you’ve been hurt and you actually begin to blame God? Or blame Christ? What if you felt entitled to something better or easier than you actually got? No, Paul says.

120. 57:08

     We have an obligation in Christ to suffer, to carry our cross, but we’re not. Careful, we’ll resent God because we interpret suffering as God not hearing us. Or listening to our prayers, or loving us if we think our suffering is God not hearing us, God not listening to our. Prayers. God not loving us.

121. 57:46

     What we can do is that we can actually put an obligation on God, and this is the obligation we can put on God. God, I’d like to live a comfortable life.

122. 57:59

     And if I don’t live a comfortable life, I’m not going to love you. So God, your obligation, God your debt to me is that I live such a comfortable life.

123. 58:11

     Does God have that? Obligation to you what? What if God did nothing else for you, did nothing else for you, but sinned his? Son to condemn sin.

124. 58:30

     Would that be enough? If God didn’t do anything else for you but he condemned sin, would you resent him for doing just that? What? Is it going to be enough? Have we put an obligation on God? Have we not forgiven someone else? And we’re blaming and that blame is separating us from the love of God.

125. 59:06

     I’m not saying, by the way, that the person that that you’re blaming did right or did wrong or did anything. I don’t know. They probably deserve whatever it is that you have some feeling against them for.

126. 59:23

     But if you don’t forgive. You can separate yourself from the love of God. And if we suffer? Loss in this world. And we’re hurt by others, or we’re infected with mortality, which we all are. Would not we learn that putting hope in this world is no hope at all? Would not suffering by the hands of others? Or with mortality teaches this lesson alone, that hope in this world is ultimately no hope at all. And so Paul concludes Romans. 8.

127. 1:00:09

     By saying that God never turns away from you, He never abandons you, He never leaves you, and he never stops loving you, no matter what suffering you may endure, and that nothing can take that love from you. Romans 8 verse 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, you tell me, shall distress you tell me, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it’s written for your sake. We’re killed all the day long.

128. 1:00:42

     We’re counted sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things were more than conquerors through him who loved. Us. For I’m persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things presence, nor things that come, nor height, nor death, nor anything in all creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And Paul does not mention something. He does not mention you because you can separate yourself from the love of Christ, but not because of Christ because you’re angry.

129. 1:01:19

     At the Tribulation. You’re hurt by the sword. You’re hungry and you’re sick from persecution. And because of all you’ve suffered, and because of all you’ve struggled with, you have resentment and anger and bitterness. And you choose not to fulfill your obligation. And that obligation is to suffer and to forgive. And you blame God.

130. 1:01:41

     If you loved you, how could this happen? You were entitled to a good life. Now it’s all messed up. And then you realize. And then hopefully at that moment, you realize my hope was for this life and was for this world.

131. 1:02:05

     And guess what? It didn’t turn out. Is that God’s fault? It’s the answer, brothers and sisters. Young people isn’t in laying blame for suffering. There is no answer in blame. There is no answer in blame. The point is that you love God through it, no matter what it is. And God can and will bring good under affliction.

132. 1:02:51

     And that good may simply be your confidence and a hope that endures. And so when Jesus suffered, he forgave because in forgiving on the cross. He actually ensured. That no resentment or any bitterness would come between him and the love of the Father at that moment in time. And you know, the Father heard him and loved him, and every moment of pain and every moment of torment that he went through. The Father loved him in every moment. The Father never turned away from him. The Father never turned away from Christ, but loved him in every groan and every even.

133. 1:03:38

     When Christ couldn’t even speak words, even when the only thing that he could utter were groans, those groans ascended to the Father as acceptable prayers. And even when you don’t have the words and all you can do is groan. If you groan under the weight of this flesh and with hope for salvation, then those groans ascend the Father as acceptable prayers to him when Alan was on his deathbed and he could only groan. The Father turned away from him at that moment because he couldn’t articulate prayers,

134. 1:04:22

     even groans said in hope of salvation. Our acceptable prayers to God and Father heard Christ on the cross and God brought tremendous good and our obligation.

135. 1:04:47

     Is to be like him, to forgive like him, to love like him. And we can only do this if our hope is strong and we understand that every suffering, anything we endure, can only bring patience. And patience brings hope, and that hope is very, very sure and nothing. Nothing, young people, nothing can take that hope away from you. Nothing anyone does from you.

136. 1:05:24

     If you get sick, if anyone else gets sick, if you get hurt, there’s an accident. If someone, the meeting does something horrific. Nothing can take away that love from you. Nothing in all creation.

137. 1:05:49

     And knowing this and having that hope is how you walk after the Spirit. That’s how you walk after the Spirit. In that hope made sure through your understanding of scriptures.

138. 1:06:09

     This is what it means for the Spirit to guide you. So what our hope not be bound up in this present world, for our suffering now is but a light of fiction, compared to exceeding an eternal weight of glory? 2nd Corinthians 417 and 18 For our light of fiction, which is for a moment worketh for us.

139. 1:06:44

     Far more exceeding an eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. The things which are seen are temporal, The things which are not seen are eternal.

140. 1:07:17

     It’s not.